


Just Breath

by gxenbev



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Established Relationship, Fix-It, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), supportive husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23270857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gxenbev/pseuds/gxenbev
Summary: Richie doesn't usually have nightmares, especially now that Eddie's by his side, but Eddie's always there to help him through them when he does.A short fic with supportive reddie.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 1
Kudos: 104





	Just Breath

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy this! I tend to start stories and never finish them, but I hope to write some more.

Eddie’s eyes flew open when he felt Richie kick him in the shin. Usually, he’d sleep through it, but Richie kicked him  _ hard. _

“What the fuck, Rich-” he started to say, but was interrupted when he received an elbow to the ribs hard enough to push him off the bed. He landed on the floor with a thud, startled and in pain.

“Richie!” he screeched, clutching his head and trying to gather his bearings. His side hurt like a motherfucker and he knew he’d have a dark bruise on his leg by morning.

Eddie glanced over at the clock. It was a couple of hours past midnight and Eddie didn’t do well on limited sleep. He stood up shakily and turned on the little lamp on his nightstand. It illuminated the bed, and he saw Richie continuing to thrash in his sleep. 

The two had been sleeping in the same bed ever since Eddie moved into Richie’s place after divorcing Myra. Eddie refused to sleep without Richie there, and Richie was a cuddler at heart. He liked to make sure he was always by Eddie’s side when he was recovering, and that included in his sleep.

Despite the amount of time they’d spent sharing a bed, Eddie had never seen Richie have a nightmare. Eddie used to have them all the time and he’d wake up with a burning feeling in his chest, right along his scar. Richie would comfort him and hold him until the pain died down and he could go back to sleep.

Eddie carefully moved to Richie’s side of the bed, cautious of his flailing limbs. 

“Richie, come on,” Eddie said as he shook his shoulder. “Wake up.”

Richie was a heavy sleeper and it took a lot of shaking before his eyes flew open and he immediately squeezed them shut again. Eddie moved back against the headboard. He grasped his husband under the arms and pulled him up with him until Richie’s back was against Eddie’s chest and they were both sitting up. Richie’s eyes remained shut tight. Eddie threw his arm over his broad shoulders and held him close. He placed his cheek over the black curls and buried his nose in his hair. Eddie rocked back and forth subtly, trying to calm Richie down and placing soft kisses on messy curls.

Richie couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t move. He tried to turn his head and bury his face in Eddie’s bare chest, but he just couldn’t. He wanted to hold on to the arms slung over his shoulders, but his arms wouldn’t move. He felt hot tears streaming down his face but he couldn’t wipe them away. 

“Richie, baby,” Eddie whispered to him. Richie couldn’t hear him. The roaring in his ears was too loud. He couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see. “Richie, love, listen to me.”

Eddie kept whispering to get his attention, but Richie couldn’t turn around. He could hear Eddie now and he focused on his calming voice.

Eddie held him tighter. “You’re okay. I got you.”

Richie kept hyperventilating, but he managed to move around in his husband’s arms. He turned to face Eddie, and Eddie saw the tears falling down his cheeks.

He smiled, but Richie knew it was fake. He was trying to look reassuring, but Richie knew him too well. He could see the fear in his dark brown eyes.

Eddie gently wiped away the tears only for them to be replaced by new ones.

“It's okay to cry, Rich. Get it all out.”

With that, Richie broke into a sob. His arms wrapped around Eddie’s middle and Eddie rubbed his back up and down. 

“Can you talk to me, sweetheart?” Eddie asked softly. Richie shook his head violently. “That's okay. Take your time.”

Richie hated feeling like this; vulnerable and weak. At the same time, he was glad these moments happened occasionally. They brought him and Eddie closer together. He hated being vulnerable, but he didn’t mind it as much when he was around Eddie. He knew him better than anyone. Eddie knew all his faults and loved him for them rather than despite them.

In times like these, Richie saw a side of Eddie that barely anyone else got to see. He was patient and soft. Eddie was not known for his patience. He was calm and collected as if he actually remembered to take his Adderall.

He was still the same Eddie, though. The same compassionate Eddie who held Richie during all the hardest moments. He held Richie when Bowers called him a fag when they were younger. He held Richie when he and Stan fought and Richie worried Stan didn’t want to be his friend anymore. He held him on the way to the hospital when he broke his leg falling down the ladder to the clubhouse and he held him through all the panic attacks that come along with childhood trauma.

“Eds,” Richie mumbled into Eddie’s neck.

“Mm,” he hummed.

Richie sat up where he was laying between Eddie’s legs. He moved so his legs were resting on either side of his husband. He looked up at him with wide-set, doubtful eyes. Carefully, Richie reached up and cupped Eddie’s face with one hand. Eddie gently placed his hand over the top of Richie’s.

“You’re here,” Richie mumbled. 

Eddie nodded. “I’m here.”

Before he could say anything else, Richie was wrapping him up in a bone-crushing hug. He threw his arms over Eddie’s shoulders and held on tight.

“Rich-” Eddie managed as he wrapped his arms around Richie again.

“If I’m holding on, I’ll know you’re okay,” he whispered. Eddie’s grip loosened for a minute and Richie tensed up. He felt like he did when back in the cavern. He felt a swell of love and guilt and fear. He squeezed Richie tighter.

“Sweetheart,” Eddie whispered softly in his ear. “I’m never gonna leave you.”

Richie sniffled and nodded as best he could with his head buried in Eddie’s neck. “I know.”

Eddie understood, though. He understood the doubt that some things just can’t be controlled. He understood the worry that Richie was feeling because he himself often felt the same thing. 

“Here,” he whispered in Richie’s ear.

Eddie pulled Richie up until he was sitting up instead of leaning on his chest. He carefully grabbed Richie’s hand and placed it over his own heart. Eddie knew he could feel the steady beat. He hoped it was reassuring enough.

Richie put his head down and kept his hand on Eddie’s heart. He was silent, and the tears had stopped. He looked calm. His eyelids started to droop, but he didn’t remove his hand.

Eddie scooted back down until he was lying flat on the mattress, bringing Richie down with him. He moved Richie’s head gently and laid it over his beating heart so he could still hear it as he fell back asleep. Richie instinctively wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist and sighed.

“Comfortable?” Eddie chuckled. Richie hummed contently and Eddie brought his hand up to rest on his curls.

He was damn near exhausted, but he stayed awake until he heard Richie’s breath evening out and knew he was fast asleep. Eddie followed shortly after.

  
  



End file.
